Library Board of Trustees Finance Sub-Committee Meeting
Finance sub-committee reviewed the Library's proposed FY26 staffing additions (roughly $76,000) to maintain level services, a proposed $66,000 line for non-emergency municipal maintenance, a 5% increase to the books budget, and a $2,000 operating-budget shift to support archives; the committee also noted the city's new $25,000 capital threshold.
The Finance Sub-Committee met to discuss the Library’s FY26 budget planning in light of the mayor’s request for level-service budgets and ongoing union COLA negotiations. Committee members heard the Library Director describe a staffing request that would convert a part-time reference desk position to full time (with additional genealogy/archival support), raise two part-time circulation assistants to 13 regular weekly hours, and restore the Library Director’s assistant to nine hours/week; the proposed staffing changes were estimated to add roughly $76,000 to the FY26 budget. Uncertainty about the final COLA (the committee used a 2.5% assumption for planning) was noted and the committee understood that this assumption places current staffing above the MMAR by about $20,000 before incorporating the level-service staffing changes.
The committee also discussed several operating and capital-related budget items. They considered applying a 5% inflation adjustment to the books line (an increase of about $10,747) and the Library Director proposed shifting $2,000 from the operating budget to cover archives services rather than using state aid. Meeting with the DPW Director has indicated the town cannot provide project management for municipal maintenance this year, so the Library Director proposed budgeting $66,000 for non-emergency maintenance within the library budget. The committee noted the newly raised capital threshold (from $5,000 to $25,000) and that this change could affect how items such as air-conditioner replacements are classified and funded. A brief discussion took place about whether to place a Library Endowment Fund account within the existing Charitable Trust or to establish a separate trust. No formal votes or motions on these proposals are recorded in the minutes; follow-up work was described (including the Director working with the new Maintenance Manager to refine cost estimates).